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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ground — a position
  13. row — a line
  14. game — wild animals
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. game — a match
  19. spring — the season
  20. stand — to bear
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to click
  24. stand — for spectators

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com